The Federal Trade Commission and seven states have sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster for allegedly operating an illegal ticket resale scheme that has cost consumers millions of dollars through inflated prices and deceptive practices.
The lawsuit alleges that California-based Ticketmaster LLC and its parent company Live Nation Entertainment Inc. tacitly coordinated with ticket brokers to allow them to harvest massive quantities of tickets from the primary market. The companies then allegedly sold these illegally obtained tickets at substantial markups on the secondary market, forcing consumers to pay significantly more than face value.
According to the FTC complaint, Ticketmaster engaged in bait-and-switch pricing by advertising lower ticket prices than what consumers actually had to pay at checkout. The company also allegedly deceived artists and consumers by claiming to impose strict limits on ticket purchases per event, even though ticket brokers routinely and substantially exceeded those limits with the company's knowledge.
The complaint further alleges that Ticketmaster sold millions of tickets on its resale platform that brokers had obtained in excess of artists' ticket limits, often at much higher costs to consumers. This practice directly undermines the pricing intentions of performers and venues while enriching both the brokers and Ticketmaster.
"President Donald Trump made it clear in his March Executive Order that the federal government must protect Americans from being ripped off when they buy tickets to live events," said FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson. "American live entertainment is the best in the world and should be accessible to all of us. It should not cost an arm and a leg to take the family to a baseball game or attend your favorite musician's show."
Ferguson emphasized that the Trump-Vance administration's FTC is committed to ensuring fans have access to fair-priced tickets, calling the lawsuit "a monumental step in that direction."
The scope of Ticketmaster's market dominance makes these allegations particularly significant for consumers. The company controls approximately 80% or more of major concert venues' primary ticketing and maintains a growing share of the secondary ticket resale market. Between 2019 and 2024 alone, consumers spent more than $82.6 billion purchasing tickets through Ticketmaster's platform.
The FTC alleges a stark contrast between Ticketmaster's public statements and private practices. While publicly maintaining that its business model conflicts with brokers who exceed ticket limits, the complaint suggests that privately, Ticketmaster acknowledged its business model and profits actually benefit from brokers preventing ordinary Americans from purchasing tickets at artist-set prices.
The lawsuit reveals that despite implementing security measures designed to prevent broker abuse, Ticketmaster was aware that brokers routinely bypassed these protections. The company allegedly allowed this practice to continue because it generated additional revenue through the secondary market sales.
This enforcement action represents a significant escalation in federal scrutiny of the live entertainment ticketing industry. The involvement of seven states alongside the FTC demonstrates broad concern about these practices across multiple jurisdictions and their impact on consumers nationwide.
For consumers, the alleged practices have created a system where ticket prices are artificially inflated beyond what artists and venues originally intended. Fans often find themselves unable to purchase tickets at face value, instead being forced to pay broker markups that can be several times the original price.
The lawsuit also raises questions about fairness in the entertainment marketplace. When ticket brokers can systematically circumvent purchase limits while ordinary consumers cannot, it creates an uneven playing field that favors those with sophisticated technology and resources over typical fans.
For artists, the alleged practices undermine their ability to set fair prices for their performances and ensure their fans can afford to attend. Many performers establish ticket limits and pricing structures specifically to maintain accessibility for their audiences, but the alleged broker coordination system would circumvent these intentions.
The case also highlights broader concerns about market concentration in the live entertainment industry. With Ticketmaster controlling such a large share of primary ticketing for major venues, its practices have outsized impact on the entire concert-going experience for millions of Americans.
The timing of this lawsuit under the Trump administration signals a continued federal focus on protecting consumer interests in the entertainment sector. The FTC's emphasis on making live entertainment accessible and affordable aligns with broader administrative priorities around fair pricing and market competition.
As this litigation proceeds, it could lead to significant changes in how major ticketing companies operate and interact with secondary market participants. The outcome may determine whether current industry practices constitute unfair or deceptive trade practices under federal consumer protection laws.
The lawsuit seeks to stop these alleged practices and could result in monetary penalties and structural changes to how Ticketmaster conducts its business, potentially affecting ticket pricing and availability for millions of consumers nationwide.